Encounter at the Counter
by TheOtherWillow
Summary: An argument at an airport gate gets out of hand...


_TheOtherWillow note - Wrote this one way back in '99 and I noticed had someone else's story saved under the story id, so I re-imported the correct version. _

TITLE: Encounter at the Counter  
AUTHOR: Denise Morgen  
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Mulder, Scully, and Skinner belongto Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 Productions. I do not have permission to use these characters and am making no money from their use.  
FEEDBACK: Take pity on this poor abused author: Anywhere - just keep my name attached!  
RATING: PG-13  
CATEGORY: MSR  
SPOILERS: One Son, Triangle, the flukeman case, and any episode Mulder broke into a military installation.  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is pure fluff, devised to entertain me while my sweetheart watches that horrible Hyperion Bay. While this story technically takes place during the current season, I  
wanted to return to the more playful Scully of the first season who would joke back with Mulder to at least some degree. So, Scullyists, don't flame me if this seems a little out of character!

Encounter at the Counter  
By Denise Morgen

"Something's not right about this, Mulder." Scully said for the tenth time as they waited in line at the ticket counter.

"Will you quit worrying? The Gunmen already checked it out and Byers is going to be waiting for me when I get off the plane. What can go wrong?"

"You have to ask? Mulder, what makes you think this girl is any different than any other 'Samanthas' that you've come across over the years? Isn't it just a little too convenient..."

Mulder put a finger to her lips to stop her steady stream of objections. "Scully, you're grasping at straws here. Hell, you're the one that did the genetic analysis on the tissue sample the guys  
sent up. She's the real deal this time. So what's really bothering you?" He took his hand away from her mouth and set it on her shoulder reassuringly.

"I just can't escape the feeling that this is a trap. I don't like how easily she 'found' you. I mean come on, Mulder, people search on Yahoo?! I don't like how quiet it's been since Spender was shot and I especially don't like that I'm not coming with you!" Scully said definitively as they stepped up to the counter. Mulder got his ticket and they proceeded silently to the security checkpoint.

Mulder sat down his luggage and took her hand. "Scully, I can tell this is really worrying you. Do you want me to postpone until after your pathology seminar? I've waited over twenty years to find her, another week and a half isn't gonna kill me." Mulder said this calmly enough but inside he was chaffing at even the possibility of delay.

Scully smiled slightly at his poorly hidden distress at the prospect of a prolonged wait. "Hmm...sounds tempting..." she paused significantly to watch him squirm, "Don't worry, I won't do that to you." Mulder exhaled softly in relief. " Go, see your sister. Just take care of yourself, okay? No breaking into government facilities or chasing flukemen in sewers-"

"Aw, Scully, take all the fun out of my life!"

Scully shook her head ruefully at his interruption. "Seriously, be careful, Mulder. If something happened to you..." she trailed off quietly and stared down at their entwined fingers.

She looked so uncharacteristically vulnerable that Mulder couldn't resist the impulse to pull her into his arms. He half expected her to jerk away or refuse his touch but she surprised him by leaning into  
his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. They stood there silently for a few minutes enjoying their unusual closeness. I like this Mulder thought to himself. I like this a lot, probably way more than I should. Why do I wish I could do this all the time? What would happen if I did?His quiet musings were cut off by the sharp twilling of Scully's cell phone. Dana reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone.

"Scully." She answered briskly without removing herself from Mulder's hold. Mulder lay his cheek down on the top of her head. He could hear Skinner's voice coming through but he couldn't understand what was being said. "Yes, sir," Scully said into the receiver. "I can be there in about an hour and a half." She was silent for a moment and Mulder could here Skinner's tone raise in annoyance. "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm at BWI dropping Mulder off. That's the absolute soonest I'd be able to manage." Skinner's tone was clipped as he abruptly hung up. Scully sighed and returned the phone to her pocket.

"What'd Skinner have to say?" Mulder muttered into her hair as she snuggled back into his arms.

"The Director of Pathology wants to review my presentation before the conference briefing this evening. I'm supposed to meet him in his office at Quantico after I get done here."

"And the fun never stops..." Mulder said dryly.

Scully chuckled slightly into his tie at his wry attempt at humor. "You know, I begin to see a pattern: do you realize you only go traipsing off to Bermuda when I'm not with you? Instead we go to exotic destinations like Oregon and New Jersey..."

"Hey, we went to Bermuda once-"

"No, YOU 'went' to Bermuda - I had to hijack seats on a MAC flight with Santa's evil elves to pull your fat out of the fryer!"

"Well, what about our trip to Florida?"

"Florida, Mulder! I don't think our little 'trip to the woods' is comparable with your jaunt to paradise." Scully said sarcastically.

"Come on, Scully," Mulder said as he gave her his best puppy dog look. "You know my paradise is where ever you are." He'd meant to say it as a joke, toss it out meaninglessly as he had so many one liners before, but as the words left his mouth the humor seemed to leech from his tone leaving only heartfelt sincerity in its wake. The air between them grew charged and tense. Both were intimately aware of their close proximity. Mulder struggled to think of something to say to combat the sudden tension and undermine his unwitting confession but Scully beat him to it.

"My paradise is with you too, Mulder," She said softly as her blue eyes gazed up at him.

"Scully, I-" Mulder began with a ragged breath. This time it was Scully who silenced him with a soft finger to the lips.

"I'll even forgive you for the whole Fowley thing as long as you come back to me without having broken any major federal laws," she said with an uncharacteristic smirk.

Mulder let out an involuntary bark of laughter. He could barely remember the last time Scully had tossed lines back at him. "So minor laws are okay to break as long as I avoid the major ones?" He said with an exaggerated leer.

"I wouldn't expect anything less of you Mulder, just save the interesting laws for when you get back, okay? Wouldn't want to get bored on our next case..." she said with a teasing smile.

"Agent Scully, are you coming on to me?" Mulder said in only partially feigned shock.

Just then final boarding for his flight was announced over the loud speakers. Scully slipped out of his grasp with the ease of an escape artist and had stooped to retrieve his carry-on before he could stop her.

"That's your flight, Mulder. Guess you'll just have to wait till you get back to find out," she said with a wicked grin as she dumped his bag into his arms and pushed him toward the boarding tunnel before he could protest. "Hurry home!"

Damn woman. Way to make a guy eager to get back before he could even leave! Mulder took a few hesitant steps in the direction of the flight attendant before coming to an abrupt stop. "Aw, to hell with it," he muttered under his breath. He dropped his carry-on and was back in her arms before she could react. "Never did handle suspence well..." he said quietly as he crushed her possessively to his chest before swooping down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. Scully stiffened in shock momentarily before melting into him like warm chocolate. And as her soft hands slid up his chest and tangled in his hair. Mulder decided that maybe a week and a half postponement would be a good idea after all...


End file.
